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Emile Durkheim

A comprehensive introduction to Emile Durkheim, the French sociologist who established sociology as a rigorous academic discipline and whose studies of social solidarity, anomie, and religion remain foundational to sociological theory.

Period

1858 CE1917 CE

French

Identity

Thinker

Philosophical archive record

Known for

emile-durkheim · sociology · social-theory · anomie · religion · social-solidarity

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Thinker

Emile Durkheim

Books

No published record

Quotation archive

Selected Quotes

Biography

Emile Durkheim (1858–1917) is studied in connection with emile-durkheim, sociology, social-theory, anomie, religion. A comprehensive introduction to Emile Durkheim, the French sociologist who established sociology as a rigorous academic discipline and whose studies of social solidarity, anomie, and religion remain foundational to sociological theory. A responsible profile separates biographical fact, interpretation of the works, and later reputation.

Historical Background

The problems addressed by Emile Durkheim arose within debates linked to Max Weber, Karl Marx, Georg Simmel, Antonio Gramsci, Political Philosophy, Social Contract Theory. Political institutions, available sciences, religious traditions, and inherited philosophical vocabularies shaped what could be argued and how readers understood it. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Emile Durkheim; Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Emile Durkheim supplies the reference basis for this context.

Core Ideas

Emile Durkheim’s central ideas are best approached through the questions they were designed to answer. In this record, those questions concern emile-durkheim, sociology, social-theory, anomie, religion. The concepts form an argument rather than an interchangeable list: changing the account of knowledge, value, or human agency can change the conclusion reached elsewhere.

Major Works

The related works and sources should be read in chronological and argumentative context. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Emile Durkheim; Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Emile Durkheim identifies the starting points used here. Titles, editions, translations, and posthumous compilations can affect interpretation, so claims attributed to Emile Durkheim should be checked against the relevant work rather than against quotations circulating without context.

Philosophical Influence

Emile Durkheim remains influential where later writers adopt, criticize, or transform these arguments. Influence does not mean agreement: an objection may preserve a thinker’s importance by redefining the problem for a new audience. Connections to Max Weber, Karl Marx, Georg Simmel, Antonio Gramsci, Political Philosophy, Social Contract Theory show several paths through that reception.

Study this profile alongside Max Weber, Karl Marx, Georg Simmel, Antonio Gramsci, Political Philosophy, Social Contract Theory. Compare definitions first, then trace the strongest argument and its principal objection. This method distinguishes Emile Durkheim’s own position from nearby schools and from later uses of the thinker’s name.

Learning Path

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Knowledge Network

Archive references

Sources

2 scholarly sources

Source and quality checks completed

Quality check completed 2026-08-10

Based on 2 scholarly sourcesLast updated 2026-08-10